Progress

I had a tutorial in real life for the first time in ages, which has made me more happy with what I am doing. As I have to have a 'reason' to be doing what I'm doing that is related to fashion it's a bit annoying; I was originally thinking of picking a brand/designer and doing my illustrations for them and creating branding materials/wallpapers etc all sorts but I couldn't find one that I thought suited my style. 

Gareth Pugh's newest collection was the closest I found, but whereas the thought behind his collection fitted in exactly, 


("He said he wanted his women to look strong, but they looked stiff in light of what was to come...They had the drama that the designer's fans expect, but they were an evolution of the softer, more romantic mood he initiated for Spring. Pugh accessorized the collection with men in outfits that were designed to emphasize masculine vulnerability in the face of feminine strength." Tim Blanks, style.com)


I was unsure whether my illustration style fitted with him, but with the help of one of my tutors I've now decided that the link to fashion will be that it is intended for a magazine such as 'Fashion Tale' which is an online magazine (couldn't find it in R.D Franks...So I'm assuming it's not in print). The issues all seem to vary from being very photography based or very illustration based; issue 2 which you can see here is all illustration which is really inspiring in this day and age you mainly see fashion magazines full of photography. The illustration styles are also really diverse too and here are some screen shots of pages from the magazine where you can see the styles are all really different but seem to work well together in the same publication. They include illustrations with just a few quick strong lines, to some really intricate work.

I think my illustrations would be able to sit in this magazine comfortably without me changing the way I'm drawing and my tutor said that this is a better way to go because I have an interesting illustration project developing and don't want to compromise it by trying to work in a style for someone else, which I am perfectly happy about! There are two routes that I could go down, promoting the fashion, which is what I was previously going to do, but then also there is the kind of 'trend' illustration. Forward looking, taking inspiration and adding your own creating something new and hopefully influential and inspiring. Thats what I will aim at...I've taken inspiration I've collected for the past 6 months from everything from holidays, museums and exhibitions, general walking around and the occasional fashion show, and adding my own spin on it to create a new narrative.

Also, I finally have some nice paper to work on! Thankyou Falkiners... my purse doesn't like you much though. Was really looking forward to testing that out then realised that because the paper had been rolled up I would need to wait until it was flat...Should have done that last night, oops!